It seems like companies are finally feeling confident enough to break into the piggy banks that they have been hoarding for years now. This should be a good sign for the industry, but according to some of what I have been reading it is a sign of the beginning of the end for the long-running bull market in stocks. Apparently corporations are particularly good at spending money when things that they are spending on are getting expensive.

Does this correspond with an increase in internal R&D spending as well? That would be another sign of this.